Go Joe Bruin
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UCLA Baseball: Go Joe Bruin’s 2019 season preview

By Nathan Eberhardt

OMAHA, NE - JUNE 29: Head coach John Savage of the UCLA Bruins watches batting practice before game 2 of the men's 2010 NCAA College Baseball World Series against the South Carolina Gamecocks at Rosenblatt Stadium on June 29, 2010 in Omaha, Nebraska. The Gamecocks defeated the Bruins 2-1 in eleven innings to win the National Championship. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images)
OMAHA, NE - JUNE 29: Head coach John Savage of the UCLA Bruins watches batting practice before game 2 of the men's 2010 NCAA College Baseball World Series against the South Carolina Gamecocks at Rosenblatt Stadium on June 29, 2010 in Omaha, Nebraska. The Gamecocks defeated the Bruins 2-1 in eleven innings to win the National Championship. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images) /
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(Photo by Stephen Dunn/Getty Images)
(Photo by Stephen Dunn/Getty Images) /

Projected freshman MVP:

Matt McLain was a first-round pick in the Major League draft who made the rare choice of turning down that contract to come to UCLA. He is primarily a middle infielder, but because all four of UCLA’s infielders return from last season, he’s slotted in at center field for now and has been playing the position well. He doesn’t have a ton of power, but he’s a placement hitter with a lot of speed who can be relied upon to make contact, move runners, and get on base. As an undersized middle infielder, being picked in the first round shows just what kind of talent and potential professional scouts see in him because those type of players don’t usually get drafted that high.

Projected breakout POY:

Keep an eye on sophomore RF Garrett Mitchell. He came in with a ton of hype as a freshman last year, and there were flashes where you could see his speed, strength, and athleticism, but there were also stretches where he looked a bit overwhelmed. He did suffer a concussion in the middle of the season, which threw him off his rhythm, so his game never seemed to come together entirely. That said, he hit .280 as a freshman, and if that’s what it looks like when he doesn’t put it all together, that bodes well for what another year of experience and confidence and conditioning can do. He has the chance to be a key player as a hitter, as a fielder, and as a runner.

Pitchers to keep an eye out for:

Ryan Garcia and Zach Pettway are the projected 1-2 punch in the rotation, and both are very, very good. Garcia is going to be held out of the first series, but the news as of now is that it is just precautionary. One pitcher that the coaching staff is counting on emerging is freshman Jesse Bergin. His pitching savvy and versatility make him a prototypical John Savage pitcher.

Projected closer:

After struggling to fill the closer role consistently over the past few years, sophomore Holden Powell will pick up where he left off late last year and should hold down the gig for the duration. He emerged towards the end of the year and finished with six saves, a WHIP of 1.09, and a K/BB ratio of 22/8. He won’t provide the length and certainty of a David Berg, but that’s an unrealistic bar – remember that Berg finished his career at UCLA in 2015 as the greatest closer in NCAA history.

Bellwether player:

Freshman C Noah Cardenas is the player whose fortunes will have the most outsized impact on the extent to which the team reaches its potential. Despite being just a freshman in a position that calls for leadership, game management, awareness, and intuition, Savage speaks highly of Cardenas’ ability to process gameplans, read his pitcher, and defend against the opponent’s baserunning. He’s not expected to contribute with his bat, so any product that he does provide will be a bonus. The reason he is so key to this team’s success is that his ceiling is high, but his floor is low. If it’s not working out, junior Will McInerny will likely step in as the starting catcher, and he’s a high floor, low ceiling guy – you know what you’re going to get, and it won’t be either a disaster or a star turn. So if Cardenas stumbles and McInerny takes over, it probably caps the team’s potential. Whereas is Cardenas plays like he’s expected to, the entire defensive rating of the team takes a huge step up.